Fitchburg sweeps North Middlesex in track opener

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / STEVE SHERIDAN
Fitchburg junior Emmanuel Bamgbose competes in the long jump during Tuesday's meet against North Middlesex at Crocker Field in Fitchburg.

FITCHBURG -- Over the past decade, the Fitchburg-North Middlesex boys' track meet has been an important gauge for both teams and represents a chance to earn a hard-fought win in an incredibly top-heavy Mid-Wach A league.

The 2013 edition of this emerging rivalry belonged to the Red Raiders. Fitchburg's strength in the field events and sprints proved to be the difference, as the hosts downed the Patriots in Tuesday's season-opening meet, 76-65, at Crocker Field.

The Fitchburg girls started their season on the right note, as well, posting an impressive 84-56 victory over North Middlesex.

"It's the first meet of the year and it's just good to get out there and compete and see what we've got," Fitchburg High assistant boys' coach Dan Walker said.

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE
North Middlesex sophomore Matt Wetherell competes in the long jump during Tuesday's meet against Fitchburg at Crocker Field.

"The team performed well, with a lot of strong performances, and it's just good to get off to a good start."

The Red Raiders got a big spark from a seasoned veteran. Senior Ezra Brice put on a show in multiple events, claiming three first-place performances. Brice had a tough start to the 100-meter dash, but recovered by breaking his own personal record with a time of 11.5 seconds. Brice also set a new personal record in winning the long jump (20 feet, 1.5 inches) and took first in the triple jump (41-0.5).

"I'm pleased with my long jump performance, that's a new personal record for me," Brice said. "I'm happy to start out with a 41 in the triple jump, I'm sure it will progress as it gets warmer out.

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The 100 was a personal record, but nobody stood on my blocks, so I almost slipped and fell on my face. It might have been a driving factor and made me push harder in the race."

The throwing events provided another bountiful source of points. Leo Ramirez had an impressive 46-6 throw to capture top honors in the shot put. Discus thrower Jose Marrero placed first in the event with a distance of 102 feet.

But the surprise throwing performance came from first-time track athlete Drew Digeronimo.

His first meet couldn't have gone much better, as Digeronimo posted a 153-6 throw in the javelin, which last year would have been good enough for eighth at the Central Mass. District All-Class Championship.

Fitchburg senior Christian Capoccia earned top honors in the 800 (2:07.4), while classmate Connor Lemieux secured the 200 dash (22.9). Geraldo Santiago took top honors in the 400 hurdles (62.0), while Manny Payton won the high jump (5-6).

Distance runner Chris Skelly was the biggest North Middlesex threat of the day. Skelly captured both the 2-mile (10:45) and the mile (4:47).

"My times are right where I want them to be for the first meet of the season," Skelly said. "I had a tough double today, because going in the 2-mile and 1-mile is hard.

Mike Neimi took top honors in the 110 hurdles (16.3) for the Patriots, while Matt Wheeler had the same production in the 400 dash (56.7). Nate Alexander had a strong first-place showing in the pole vault (10-6), and the North Middlesex mile relay also took first (4:04).

"This was our first meet of the year and I'm still feeling out this new squad," first-year North Middlesex (0-1, 0-1) head coach Suzanne Williams said. "Could I have done something differently in terms of where I put my athletes, in terms of scoring? It's the first meet with a new squad and we're all learning."

Rising star Aisha Mathieu and seasoned veteran Kristene Haywood helped the Fitchburg girls secure their first win of the season.

Mathieu won the high jump (4-8), and also took top honors in the 400 dash (69.2). Haywood owned the other jumps, with first in the long jump (15-0.25) and triple jump (32-6.25), and also took first in the 200 dash (27.5).

"Our veteran athletes came out here and performed," Fitchburg High (1-0, 1-0) girls' head coach Sara Lamey said. "It was the little things, like girls coming forward to do events that they normally would never do to help get some points and get a win. It's really tough with powerhouses in our league, and it was nice to see the girls come and rally around each other."

First-time javelin thrower Chaiyanne Monteiro earned the top spot in her new field event (72-4). Kirsten Harnden won the mile (6:34), Lizzy Moison captured the 2-mile (15:14), and Daphne Hilaire secured the 400 hurdles (1:28.3). Rounding out other Red Raider top performances were the 4x100 relay (54.4), and the unopposed mile relay.

Pacing the North Middlesex girls (0-1, 0-1) was double-winner Laurel Haines, who earned top honors in the 100 hurdles (18.1) and the pole vault (6 feet). Another key performance came from double-winner thrower Bailey Delaney. She won the discus (64-10) and took the top spot in the shot put (25-4).

Other notable Patriot first-place performances came from Taylor Templeton in the 100 dash (14.1) and Sage Clemenson in the 800 run (2:58).

"We only have 15 girls and a lot of them are inexperienced," Williams said. "You have to learn how to execute events. There are technical details that you need to embed in your thought process and muscle memory, and that's what they are doing. They are learning."

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